Plugging two 9 volt batteries together

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Thanks

 

[Robert Morein]

<anon@anon.com> wrote in message
news:dlbhivs3qfth8fqa8qje0ephl11gepfurc@4ax.com...

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Thanks

If new, they would probably rupture.

It's possible that fire could occur. It would require an unlucky presence of
very combustible material.

 

[Peter]

Reminds me of the day I stuck a 9 volt battery in my pocket with a bunch of
keys.

Things began to get hot as the terminals met a short circuit!
Thought my pants were going to catch light.

Peter

<anon@anon.com> wrote in message
news:dlbhivs3qfth8fqa8qje0ephl11gepfurc@4ax.com...

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Thanks

 

[John Damm Sřrensen]

Peter wrote:

Reminds me of the day I stuck a 9 volt battery in my pocket with a bunch of
keys.

Same thing here.

It also reminds me of a story from my childhood.
During a major cleanup in his shop the local grocer threw some old
batteries into a pile of crap that amongst other things contained some
steelwool.
The batteries made the steelwool catch fire immediately.

John

Things began to get hot as the terminals met a short circuit!
Thought my pants were going to catch light.

Peter

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

Same thing here.
It also reminds me of a story from my childhood.
During a major cleanup in his shop the local grocer threw some old
batteries into a pile of crap that amongst other things contained some
steelwool.
The batteries made the steelwool catch fire immediately.

Or some dimwit from a high school taking a sample of pure alkali from his
chemistry class, putting it in his pocket, and then have his crotch get blown
off when he began to sweat during P.E.

Of course, unstable materials like pure alkali were banned from public schools
for a number of years, but something like this did happen. - Reinhart

 

[Mike Berger]

Lithium batteries almost certainly would.

anon@anon.com wrote:

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Thanks

 

[GregS]

In article <3F2945E5.54CCDDDF@shout.net>, Mike Berger <berger@shout.net> wrote:

Lithium batteries almost certainly would.

anon@anon.com wrote:

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Try two fresh ones and stand way back. Use alkaline.

You have heard the stories of shorting cells in your pocket, I'm sure.
The 9 volters will easily short with a set of keys.

greg

 

On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 17:13:54 GMT, szekeres@pitt.edu (GregS) wrote:

In article <3F2945E5.54CCDDDF@shout.net>, Mike Berger <berger@shout.net> wrote:
Lithium batteries almost certainly would.

anon@anon.com wrote:

Just a quick question.
The other day I changed the batteries in the smoke detectors for my
elderly mom. While talking to her, I was fiddling the old batteries
and plugged 2 of them together. You know how 9 volt batteries plug
together (POS to NEG). A minute later, I almost burned my hands on
them. Apparently connecting the POS to the NEG caused them to grt
hot.
My question is whether they would get hot enough to start a fire?
Anyone know?

Try two fresh ones and stand way back. Use alkaline.

You have heard the stories of shorting cells in your pocket, I'm sure.
The 9 volters will easily short with a set of keys.

greg

I went to a wedding in Spring and brought along the digital camera.
Before I left home I grabbed some extra NIHM batteries out of the
charger. Being rushed, I just tossed them in my pants pocket. There
were 4 of them in my pocket along with keys and coins. Who would
think that a battery with contacts on opposite ends would short.......

I found out the hard way while sitting at the bar during the
reception. Suddenly my leg was so hot that I began dancing around and
emptied the entire contents of that pocket all over the floor with one
quick movement. Everyone thought I had flipped my lid or drank way
too much. That was until someone grabbed one of the batteries on the
floor, and got a hot handful. It took about 10 minutes before that one
battery could be touched, and my keys were very hot too.

A lesson learned. NEVER put batteries in your pocket. Especially the
rechargable kind. I was lucky and only suffered a minor burn on my
leg and of course I will never hear the end of this from my
relatives....
(the batteries still work)

Mark